fine whine

[Updated: Site's back up. they've been having trouble.]

I'm not addicted, but I do visit http://www.boingboing.net/ rather frequently. As in multiple times a day. So to try to visit it and be given either an IE error or (as of this morning) an image wishing me "good night" is somewhat jarring. I checked its founders' sites, and none of them mention anything about downtime. Not personally knowing any other boingboingers and basically not corresponding with fellow visitors, I can only speculate as to what happened/is happening.

• Due to raging fires, boingboing had to evacuate and took all the pages, posts and archives out with it, as well as a small smattering of family photos and clothes with sentimental value.
• Content purists organized and executed a massive denial of service and subsequent takeover of boingboing because most of its content is merely linkage to other "real" content.
• Waking up after a long bender, puzzled to be somewhere in the Brazilian jungle, boingboing is still relatively lost.
• Boingboing ran off to Vegas with your boyfriend/girlfriend. That tramp/bastard.
• Ball lightning.
• Amnesia. Since a freak accident on Monday boingboing has been working as a receptionist for a used car dealership in L.A.

Come back!

I've figured out what the perfect Halloween costume for a tall guy would be: two midgets dressed up as a tall guy. Of course there would be some difficulties with this (namely the large feet, head and arms) but I think that with the right details it could work. First and foremost would be a coat that opens in front revealing the bottom midget holding the top guy on his shoulders.

Well, I just finished watching Formula 51, with Sam Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Meat Loaf and scads more recognizable people. I enjoyed it greatly. From beginning to end it was an enjoyable ride. At times it was absurd, very often hilarious, at others brilliant and only occasionally slightly disappointing — I'm no fan of the textish sort of ending that marred Unbreakable — but it was always stylish and all the while I really liked it. I'm reminded in part of my thoughts regarding The Transporter: here was another stylish film that wasn't quite as intelligent as its swaggering would imply, but still it made mainstream fare look like Steamboat Willie in comparison. See also The Salton sea. When my wife wants to watch a movie she means one that doesn't require thinking or full attention, such as anything Reese Whitherspoon's done lately. When I want to watch a movie I want it to be smart but fun. Like Formula 51.

What is it that makes these films so enjoyable? Stylistic near-excess? Explosions and car chases? Really I think it boils down to how much fun those involved admit to having had. EPKs and supplemental materials have the actors and crew flat out boasting to loving the whole process and its resultant celluloid wonder. I'm sure counter-examples exist, but I doubt they'd be able to dig up some archival footage of Bob Hope crowing about how fantastic the making of Ishtar turned out to be.

Of course you realize the whole point of this entry was to use "dig up" and "Bob hope" in the same sentence, har har har.

NaNoWriMo starts this Saturday. Imagine that, me writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. I'm pumped, though I have work I need to finish and I'll need to abstain from that damned Diablo 2. We'll see how it turns out. I have scenes planned out, just not a plot yet.

Here's a tagline I'd like to use someday: "So ergonomic it hurts!" Why? It just sounds cool.

Speaking of hurts, though, and not so cool, it has been brought to my attention that I have fallen lax in my protection of wildlife by not crushing my Yoplait yogurt cups. Only now have I noticed the warning "PROTECT WILDLIFE/CRUSH CUP BEORE DISPOSAL" and I have been haphazardly tossing uncrushed cups for years. I think I squashed one once, but otherwise I must be responsible for horrible pain and suffering for wildlife.

But wait? Why would my cup-crushing or lack thereof have to do with nature? I should hope no bambis or thumpers are rooting through the landfill for a quick lick of some fine French vanilla or lemon. Or does Yoplait expect me to carelessly toss my cup into the woods, right into the path of an unsuspecting wild animal?

I think I'll still be able to sleep at night over this, though.

What can I say? I'm dull.